“Everything is REAL except the bullets!”
Experience the THRILL of Flying a Fighter in Combat!
You will be taking to the skies as ‘Combat 1’, flying a flight of two Marchetti SF-260s, in battle formation. Your fighter is flying at nearly 3 miles per minute. You are at the controls and ready to fight for air superiority over the Pacific Ocean. You spot your opponent, left 9 o’ clock level. You both turn aggressively toward each other for a closer look and to verify their identity. Three more seconds and you pass left to left. ‘Fights On!’ is called out at over 400 mph closure! The G-forces build to a crushing 4.5 times that of the Earth as you pull back on the stick into a climbing left Immelmann. Then, with the flick of your wrist, you Split-S, and come screaming down from above as you are finally able to gain an offensive position and start to bring your guns to bear on the enemy aircraft. With a very steady hand you walk the pipper of your gunsight onto the enemy fighter and squeeze the trigger! ‘Guns, Guns, Guns! Pipper is on, and the trigger is down!' Suddenly, your opponent’s plane erupts in a plume of smoke as you hear "Good Shot, Good Kill, Knock It Off’ as you break away victorious - ‘Splash One’ is heard on the radio as you breathe deeply and relish your winning moment!
OUR
History. Our Mission. Our Why.
Air Combat USA was designed and developed in 1986, by former American Airlines Captain and Aerospace Engineer, Michael 'Maverick' Blackstone. Mav created a place where Guest Pilots could take a peak under the tent into the world of the Fighter Pilot and to find out if their inner Maverick will rise to the occasion and perform as well as they had hoped. He succeeded. Air Combat USA is an authentic, hand’s on, full immersion, Fighter Pilot For A Day®, experience for the world to enjoy! Our custom built, one-of-a-kind and patented - Electronic Tracking System (ETS) is used to simulate shooting 50 caliber machine guns, confirm air-to-air ‘kills’, and activate the smoke system of the downed aircraft while simultaneously capturing the entire flight experience with 3 on-board high definition cameras. Air Combat USA offers you a world-class fighter pilot experience...second to none. The high quality video system records the best angles and the 'kills' onto a digital SD flash drive for the debrief playback after the mission to see where improvements can be made for future combat sorties. Guest Pilots then go home with their (optional) HD footage, bragging rights and with much more knowledge about the art and science of what it takes to be a fighter pilot engaged in aerial combat.
“There are NO Points for second best!”
The Best Air Combat Fighter: The Marchetti SF-260
To become a real fighter pilot, you need to train in a real fighter aircraft. Air Combat USA has chosen to fly only the Marchetti SF.260 made by Leonardo in Italy. This incredible fighter aircraft has a purchase price of $1,600,000 USD for the E/F models, and is designed to meet the needs of today’s military customers. The SF.260 is used to train pilots to fly formation and to provide close air support. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned fighter pilot, you will appreciate the high performance flight characteristics of the SF-260. This beautifully designed, light weight, and highly maneuverable fighter aircraft has wonderfully balanced flight handling characteristics. It can easily attain relatively high speed in a shallow dive up to 271 mph. It has a very strong and functional airframe that allows the SF.260 to carry up to 600 lbs under each wing for its role as an air-to-ground weapons delivery platform capable of carrying 7.62 mm machine gun pods, 4.75" rocket pods, and 250 lb bombs. All fighter pilots are accustomed to taking the control stick in their right hand and the throttle with their left. Whether you are flying formation for the first time or the 10,000th time, you will feel right at home in the SF.260 with its solid and stable feel in your right hand and instant throttle response in the left. You will be pleased with the SF.260s quick response and agility with tiny stick pressures light enough in your hand to move the aircraft with ease anywhere in the sky that you choose. This world-class fighter aircraft is a marvel of engineering design and workmanship and is a wonderful example of a very successful fighter aircraft with its beautiful symmetrical proportions, solid jet-like handling characteristics, military capability, robust strength built into its robust internal structures, as well as its unmatched efficiency and operational capability from almost any airport in the world. Air Combat USA is the only company in this industry to use this incredible fighter aircraft exclusively for all of our aerobatic and combat training missions. You are definitely going to thoroughly enjoy your Fighter Pilot For A Day® immersion experiences with us from any of our Air Combat USA facilities nationwide.
“I Feel the Need...The Need for Speed!”
'Solo' Advanced Aerobatics - Marchetti SF.260 (Hand's On!)
Total Duration:
2:00-2.50 Hours
Programs:
:20 Minute Flight Package: $995
:30 Minute Flight Package: $1,195
:45 Minute Flight Package: $1,495
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Video Option: $100
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Taking the stick of a real fighter aircraft is an experience like no other! You will feel the surge of adrenaline as you dive down towards the Pacific Ocean at speeds exceeding 220 mph! Feel the Gs as you pull back on the stick and take your fighter over the top of a massive 1,400’ loop! Your experience will begin with a preflight briefing on the best practices of how to fly a fighter like the Marchetti SF.260 like a pro as well as a few safety considerations. Then you will be on your way to the aircraft! The Instructor will perform the takeoff and landing, but you will fly as much (or as little) of the flight as you wish. Each flight is tailored to your experience level but most of our Guest Pilots love to give everything a try with a bit of encouragement and instilled confidence from the Instructor Pilot.
Choose to fly the :20 Minute, :30 Minute or :45 Minute flight packages. These are approximate flight times in the air. All 3 packages are incredible experiences and get fantastic reviews from our clients! We recommend our best seller, the :45 Minute flight package for those who want to get the most value and most flight time in the aircraft. You will be able to slow the process down, get comfortable in the aircraft, and perform twice as many aerobatic maneuvers since the time to the practice area is the same. The choice is yours. Let’s go fly the Marchetti SF.260 fighter!
Fighter Experience Includes:
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Pre-Flight Briefing
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:20, :30 or :45 Minute Flight Times (You fly up to 90% of the time!)
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Video of Flight from the Onboard HD Cameras
